Need a Toyota Guru-Quick!!! '95 Avalon xls has a cylinder 6 misfire that won't go away

My well maintained( gets reg tune ups and oil changes )..Mil keps poping up
od2 reads cylinder 6 misfire...A tune should not be necessary ,,Whats the
next step ..Changing the coil?? and what does that cost me ??

Frustrated in Jersey,
Ben

"BENJY613" <benyamintripp@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1edbdfcd2d379cfcd63c13146809e96c@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...[color=blue]
> My well maintained( gets reg tune ups and oil changes )..Mil keps poping
> up
> od2 reads cylinder 6 misfire...A tune should not be necessary ,,Whats the
> next step ..Changing the coil?? and what does that cost me ??
>
> Frustrated in Jersey,
> Ben
>[/color]
Dear Frustrated,

Was the MIL blinking or on solid? If it was blinking, the system detected
at least 1 misfire every 200 engine revolutions and there is the possibility
that the catalyst will be ruined. If it is on solid, then it needs to
detect a misfire every 1,000 revolutions on 2 trips.

The factory service manual has a long list of possible causes, starting with
the ignition system. For starters, when the tune-up was done, were original
Toyota platinum-tipped spark plugs used? If not, then that is a likely
cause. Start by using OEM plugs.

Check for spark by pulling the coil and spark plug, inserting the spark plug
in the coil, and crank the engine to check for spark.

After that, you will need an oscilloscope to check the injector firing
pattern and a multi meter and factory service manual to check everything
else.

Good luck!
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

Dear Frustrated,

My '95 Avalon had a misfire code after the spark plugs were changed.
The dealer wanted to 'try' a new igniter ($700?). The problem was a
loose connection on top of one of the coils - fault of the mechanic.

So my advice is to take off the plastic engine cover & make sure the
wires going to the coils are connected securely. Doesn't cost anything
but time.

TomC

"BENJY613" <benyamintripp@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1edbdfcd2d379cfcd63c13146809e96c@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...[color=blue]
> My well maintained( gets reg tune ups and oil changes )..Mil keps poping
> up
> od2 reads cylinder 6 misfire...A tune should not be necessary ,,Whats the
> next step ..Changing the coil?? and what does that cost me ??
>
> Frustrated in Jersey,
> Ben[/color]

It could be lots of things in the fuel injection or ignition systems.
Recently I had a six cylinder Mitsubishi that would set a random misfire
code for cylinder 6. Ultimately we traced the problem to a burned exhaust
valve on that cylinder. How many miles on your Avalon? Have you had the
valve clearances inspected and adjusted per the maintenance schedule? A
tight exhaust vale (too little clearance) can burn. This affects the
compression on that cylinder. Lower compression on a single cylinder makes
that cylinder less effective than the others. And even though the fuel
injectors and ignition system might be performing perfectly, the difference
in performance of this one cylinder will set the random misfire code.
Hopefully this is not your problem. You can rule it out with a compression
test.

Ed

"BENJY613" <benyamintripp@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1edbdfcd2d379cfcd63c13146809e96c@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...[color=blue]
> My well maintained( gets reg tune ups and oil changes )..Mil keps poping
> up
> od2 reads cylinder 6 misfire...A tune should not be necessary ,,Whats the
> next step ..[/color]


Changing the coil??
Yes.


and what does that cost me ??[color=blue]
>[/color]

I don't know what they cost, but they're easy to replace.


[color=blue]
> Frustrated in Jersey,
> Ben
>[/color]